The Dutch government will supply 50 Panzerfaust-3 anti-tank weapons and 400 rockets [File: Marcin Bielecki/EPA-EFE]
* President Joe Biden approved $350 million in military assistance for Ukraine on Friday evening
* The Pentagon said it included anti-armor weapons, small arms and various munitions as well as body armor
* An official added that Javelin anti-tank missiles were in the package but did say if Stingers were included
* Ukraine appealed for both as it tries to repel Russian troops who entered the capital on Saturday morning
* A Pentagon official said Russia had launched more than 250 - mostly short-range -missiles in past 24 hours
* The president and first lady Jill Biden left Washington DC for Delaware on Friday evening
* Their weekend away comes as Europe experiences its biggest conflict since World War Two
* Biden is planning to impose sanctions directly on Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
A Pentagon official said Saturday that Javelin anti-tank missiles were part of a new $350 million package of military hardware being sent to help Ukrainian troops hold off invading Russian forces.
The military assistance was authorized by President Joe Biden a day earlier, bringing the total amount of help to $1 billion over the past year.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said it would come from U.S. inventories 'including anti-armor, small arms and various munitions, body armor, and related equipment in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack.'
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Western leaders made the decision in 1956 to not ship weapons to the Hungarians in their revolution against the Soviet Union because they knew that it would escalate into a nuclear war. Ditto in 1968 when Soviet forces invaded Czechoslovakia and stopped their Prague Spring.
Sacrificing two European countries to tyranny in order to avoid a greater war must have been an incredibly hard decision for these leaders to make, but they made it to avoid a greater calamity.
So what is different now?
Are Western leaders aware of what they are doing?
Do they know the consequences of their action?
I know this. Russia is going to go apoplectic seeing Germany supplying weapons to Ukraine. In the Second World War many in Ukraine aligned themselves with the Germans. In my father's home town of Bila Tserkva the Nazi German Einsatzgruppe with the aid of Ukrainian militias exterminated the Jewish population (link here). The U.S. and the West may not be aware of this history, but Russia is, and it feeds into their obsession on the need to always be secured and protected.
The Kremlin will see this military support to the Ukraine military as a direct intervention in a conflict that Moscow sees as necessary from a vital national security perspective. The Kremlin will respond, and I shudder on what they will do because I know what they are capable of doing.
I told a regular reader of this blog tonight that if the momentum shifts away from Russia in this war, there is a very real possibility that Russia will use a tactical nuclear weapon (or two) that will force the Ukraine government to capitulate immediately, and to also warn Europe and the U.S. to stay out. No one is talking about it, but I sense that it is on the table.
Bottom line. And I hope that I am wrong. This commitment from the US and the EU to now intervene in the Russian - Ukraine war by supplying weapons makes this escalation into a nuclear conflict one step closer.
Ignoring Warnings From Russia, U.S. And NATO Preparing To Intervene In The War By Shipping Massive Amount Of Arms Into Ukraine
EU aims to coordinate arms shipments to Ukraine -- Politico
In a major shift, Germany will send weapons to Ukraine -- AP
NATO bolsters arms supply to Ukraine with anti-tank weapons -- Al Jazeera
Britain to send more arms to Ukrainian military as fighting reaches Kyiv -- The Independent
Too little too late? West finally coughs up arms for Ukraine -- France 24
NATO rushing to resupply Ukraine by land; no-fly zone all but ruled out -- Politico
27 comments:
WNU,
I'm sorry, but I think that the "nuclear' threat from Russia is a bluff. Killing Western countries will be worse than SWIFT ban.
Putin is a smart person but, this time, he makes a very bad miscalculation.
I definitely hope you are right Jac!!!!
"Sacrificing ..
So what is different now?"
There was an article on Dunnigan and Nofi's website about how Russia maintain control by sitting Russian Armies on them.
Is that how Russia is going to maintain order in Ukraine far into to the future. Is that the Russian way?
There have been protest against US troops in South Korea. I have not heard of protests for years now. Not since the US pulled out troops to send them to Iraq.
The Germans cried when Trump was going to move troops from Germany to Poland.
There is a difference between the US and Russian in stationing troops
You're right about one thing at least and probably some more; the russian leadership, lead by Putin, will most certainly threaten, at the very Least, the use of their mighty nuclear weapons should anything get tough. It's all he and they have ever done. They have to. Respectfully, shudder away, I get it in a way. Ukraine should 110% Not in any way, shape, or form be a a part or aligned with NATO but Russia does not 'need' to invade or conquer the country. Maybe they have some strategic objectives they feel are vital to the nation's national security but that's about it.
I hope it doesn't heat up too much more than it has but it seems to be escalating by the hours.
Having made the mistake of sacrificing people before perhaps they don't want to do it again. I'd sure hate to be on the blunt force trauma of "the greater good!!"
Perhaps Russia being aware of certain history expected the Europeans to behave the same way and knowing how much they hate America reinforced their decision.
What they didn't realize is a number of western leaders regretted the decision in 1956 preferring death to tyranny and have imparted this to their descendants. Of course they mean freedom for them and not necessarily for the rest of us.
Actually getting Germany to oppose Russia IA something I thought I'd never see!! Russia and Putin may have made the mother of all miscalculations.
On a side note, 1956 wasn't far removed from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and US leadership deeply regretted this decision. This probably influenced decision making back then.
^^^
Annatar
While this is a difficult situation, America can only guarantee it's own liberty. Liberty everywhere should be supported but we can only guarantee our own.
Annatar refers to the character Sauron in Lord of the Rings. I looked it up. As it pertains to entertainment, I'm not surprised I didn't know. How exactly does this apply here?
It never was going to be aligned with NATO. Even if it wanted to be, Russia has always wieled huge influence there and could've easily blocked it any way meaning a Ukrainian NATO was never a real threat.
Perhaps the invasion shocked even them. Russia may have created a massive problem they didn't have before and didn't need.
I'm legally blind. My hearing is keen!! Obviously I'm not going to take an ice pick to my ears!! In regards to Ukraine, at face value Russia appears to have done the equivalent!!
Ukraine was never a threat to Russia and Russian operatives there could have easily controlled the situation. Occam's Razor suggests team Putin has gone mad. If it wants to do so, NATO can now expand with impunity.
So far the Russian Army is proving to be equal to the Iraqis. Soldiers begging the enemy for food, abandoned vehicles because they’re out of fuel, looting, killing civilians…. Rules of Engagement are already breaking down and it’s about to get worse. Nothing on Earth is more terrifying than an Army conducting unrestricted warfare on a civilian population.
They’re going to destroy the Ukrainian capital now that the order has been given to take the city by Monday no matter the cost. Masses dead on both sides. You think the Russians will be upset about the Germans? Wait until all those cell phone pics of dead Ukrainian children migrate from Twitter to Western mainstream media. Russia is going to wear this for decades.
Watch the financial markets Monday morning. Putin has just made a lot of Russians paupers. Think American inflation looks troublesome? . He keeps this craziness up and Russians will be asking North Koreans which trees have the best bark.
The problem for Russia is that they have a lot of people who think like you, they live still in their unsuccesful history and are bitter. Russians have obvious problems in forming logical solution for logical problems and I think it's orginating from the language they use. The language does not allow them to think positive, optimistic and probably does not contain concepts to describe future in order to make simple plans. I've heard a joke saying that Russian language does not contain one single word for opportunity, but contains 27 different words to describe failure. I realized it's true while working there last year. It's pretty much inline with how you add your comments to the daily news on your blog. By the way, I think I have been reading WNU daily since 2008 if I remember correctly.
Weapons have been supplied years prior, Putin was most likely referring to boots as intervention.
Nuke shmuke ..not gonna happen , and now that he sees his army in action he knows how hard he would be spanked in a conventional war with the West.
The tenacious ferocity of the ukranians 8s inspirational, perhaps it is Nato that should apply to join ukraine.
Putin calculated what would be reasonable for nation states to survive or avoid nuclear war. These calculations are useful in statecraft, but they are not sufficient analysis.
The War in Ukraine puts the political viability of of some leaders is and many of their courtiers, hangers on or clique at stake. The war shows the in an un enviable light. These leaders can easily reason that the world is a tough cold place and people die all the time and not truly care. They are not reacting out of the goodness of their heart but out of fear.
You can reason that Joe's paper tiger and that he is a front man. People have hitched their star to this card board cutout, who is more and more every day their creation. Joe might need a butler more and more every day, but the people around don't. Do you see Joe's people having political viability once Joe is gone, especially ignominiously? Where will they go? Hillary already has a full court and favorites. A game of musical chairs played at her court with her people is a losing proposition. Other up and comers in the Democrat Party do not have a full court, but refugees from a failed Biden presidency might find a hard time getting berths there.
So while Joe is a basket case and his crew were starry eyed, wet behind the ears and just stupid (providing intel to China and asking China to talk to the Russians), his people are getting a little bit woke up and a lot desperate.
Did Putin factor that in?
People always wonder why Germany did not surrender after the spring of 1943. There was no hope of victory. It was not about Germany, it was about the personalities at the top. You can read opinions that if the British had assassinated Hitler during WW2 all that would have happened is that Himmler or someone would have moved into his place. So Joe is not all there. So Joe went to his home n Delaware, which people have pointed out does not look like it has a SCIF. Joe is not calling the shots. The kingmakers behind Joe are in DC (except for the man behind the curtain) and these movers and shakers do not want to go down quietly.
They always talk about how many leaders and corporate CEOs have psychopathic profiles. Well maybe Putin should take that into account. Maybe he should take into account that the enablers of such leaders are psychopathic too. I certainly do. I listen to the spox people and I think they are psychopaths. The longer on the job or the bigger the lies, the more psychopathic I think they are. Are the spoxs people the only psychopaths in the admin?
Of course you can turn around the argument and argue that Putin and his coterie are psychopaths too.
If one side or the other pushes it to where they think is reasonable, they will be in for a shock.
Psychopaths are not inhuman, but the parameters (on a scale of 1 to 10 ) are set different. Figure a +/- 2 in some parameters, if not pegged out. That changes how you would play things in game theory.
Easily blocked it?...with what wand. Now you will see Sweden and find apply
Kyev is not Grozny
As an anon 12:40 said what about the phone pics. In the late 1990s in Grozny they were not as ubiquitous.
There are more Ukrainians in the US than Chechens.
Ukrainians are warmer and fuzzier than Chechen, who scream Allahu Akbar.
Do the lesson Putin learned about Grozny apply to Kyev?
Ukraine is a helluva lot closer to Europe than Chechnya.
You the people are upset about landmines and cluster bombs? Wait until they sea or hear about thermobaric bombs. Those bomb are no secret, but the concept and reality have not yet invaded the and of the common person. Personally, I hope Putin uses them. It will be his mistake. I am not callous; I just that every way to go other than in your sleep is shitty way to go. Also I despise people, who get all flustered about cluster bombs as if HE, .50 cal round, or other things are better ways to go.
Fazman,
B Poster is a Russian troll. He uses educated, high falutin prose, which seems innocuous if often mildly irritating, but he tries to insinuate or back door propaganda points now and then.
Maybe they are trying a complete line up of troll personalities and types and figure if you guard against some of them, you never see some others.
All through 2014 to 2019 B Poster was a Russian/Putin fan boy.
Reading B Poster's comments is like listening to an unctuous, upper crust English person, who tells you their superior world view and you feel like you need to shower afterwards or really CBR decontamination wash down.
And I do mean unctuous. That is exactly the word.
B.Poster always agrees with the Russian-Canadian editor of this blog.
So that should tell you something about both their views and political alignment.
B Poster = Annatar = Sauron
How would they block it? A number of reports suggest there are large numbers of Russian operatives in Ukraine. I believe those reports to be spot on. Prior to the invasion I believe they would've easily blocked Ukraine's entry into NATO.
If I'm wrong about an analysis, we can discuss that. "Russian troll" slurs appear to be a distraction.
The editor appears dead set against this intervention whereas I'm not so sure. If th3 Europeans and others have our backs I actually think such interventions might actually work.
I would also add that the world is a vastly different place than it was in 2014 or 2019. As things change and as we learn more, we would expect some of approaches to change.
I know and I don't see the relevance here. If there's an issue with someone's analysis, it should be discussed directly.
Recon and spetznatz block nato membership, its a political decision
I've never claimed my world view to be superior in any way. Those who actually know me well suggest that I'm very humble and far from being condescending.
As things change and as new information comes available, I do find myself having to alter some of my positions. I believe this to be a sign of a mature person. It's far better than clinging to failed ideologies at any and all costs.
If I offended you, I apologize and hope you will forgive me.
You accuse me of being "false." I've provided you with my contact information which will clearly establish that I'm not a Russian troll yet you reuse to do do. I would say you are engaging in projection and "unctous" is an apt description of you
As for me, I'm a humble American patriot who advocates for that which I truly believe to be in our best interests. Do I have all the answers? Of course not!!
Troll
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